Conveying device, printer, and abutting member

ABSTRACT

Embodiments described herein are to a conveying device which includes a conveying mechanism configured to convey a mount with a web material provided thereon in a conveying direction; and an abutting member including an edge portion extending in a widthwise direction intersecting with the conveying direction and configured to allow the edge portion to abut against the mount.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-176483, filed on Aug. 5, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a conveying device, a printer, and an abutting member.

BACKGROUND

In the related art, a device (e.g., a printer) including an abutting member which abuts against a backing sheet (or a mount) to separate a label (on which information is printed) from the backing sheet is known.

In such a device, a mechanism is needed to easily separate a label from a flexible backing sheet (or a mount).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing an exemplary internal configuration of a printer according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing one example of a paper roll to be used in a printer according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one example of an abutting member to be used in a printer according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing one example of an abutting member and a web material having a label provided thereon, which are used in a printer according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view showing one example of an abutting member and a web material having a label provided thereon, which are used in a printer according to an illustrative embodiment, as seen from a paper discharge direction.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another example of an abutting member to be used in a printer according to another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to one embodiment, a conveying device includes a conveying mechanism configured to convey a mount with a web material provided thereon in a conveying direction; and an abutting member including an edge portion extending in a widthwise direction intersecting with the conveying direction and configured to allow the edge portion to abut against the mount.

Embodiments will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements, and thus a description thereof will be omitted to avoid duplication herein.

As shown in FIG. 1, a device (e.g., a printer 1) according to an illustrative embodiment may print on a label (used as a printing medium) 14 (see FIG. 2), which is provided on (e.g., adhered to) an inner surface 2 a of a web material 2 (e.g., strip-shaped material such as paper). In some embodiments, the printer 1 may print on a printing medium other than the label 14, for example, a continuous-form paper without a backing sheet. In addition, the printer 1 may write and read data to and from an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) chip 2 c attached on the label 14. The web material 2 is flexible and corresponds to a strip-shaped body, a backing sheet, or a mount. Further, the label 14 is formed in a sheet shape and corresponds to a pasting material or a printing medium.

As shown in FIG. 1, a main body 1 a of the printer 1 includes a housing 1 b with a bottom wall 1 c and a side wall. The housing 1 b includes a longitudinal wall 1 d provided perpendicular to the bottom wall 1 c and also parallel to the side wall. On the longitudinal wall 1 d, a roll holding shaft 3, a conveying roller 4, a platen roller 5, a supply shaft 7 for an ink ribbon 6, a take-up shaft 8 for the ink ribbon 6, a print head block 9, a pinch roller block 10 and the like are mounted perpendicular to the longitudinal wall 1 d. A control circuit may be disposed on the rear side of the longitudinal wall 1 d in the housing 1 b, as seen in the plane of FIG. 1.

The roll holding shaft 3 may rotatably support a roll (e.g., a paper roll) 11, around which the web material 2 is wound, in a state perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1. In one embodiment, the roll holding shaft 3 may be rotatably supported by the longitudinal wall 1 d. Alternatively, the roll holding shaft 3 may be fixed on the longitudinal wall 1 d, thereby allowing the paper roll 11 wound with the web material 2 to rotate around the roll holding shaft 3. In any case, in this embodiment, the roll holding shaft 3 and the paper roll 11 are not driven by, for example, a motor. The paper roll 11 wound with the web material 2 rotates (or is driven) in conjunction with rotation of the conveying roller 4 and the platen roller 5, which are located downstream of the paper roll 11 in a paper feeding direction TD (the left direction in FIG. 1). As such, the web material 2 is discharged from the paper roll 11.

The conveying roller 4 and the platen roller 5 may be rotary-driven by means of, for example, a motor. The conveying roller 4 is located upstream of the platen roller 5 and a print unit 12 in the paper feeding direction TD. The pinch roller block 10 may include a pinch roller (not shown) which is horizontally placed adjacent to the conveying roller 4 along the paper feeding direction TD. The pinch roller is biased toward the conveying roller 4 with predetermined pressure. The web material 2, interposed between the conveying roller 4 and the pinch roller, is conveyed in the paper feeding direction TD in conjunction with the rotation of the conveying roller 4. In this embodiment, the conveying roller 4, the platen roller 5, the motor, a motor controller and the pinch roller block 10 may constitute a conveying mechanism.

A ribbon roll 13, around which a web material (e.g., the ink ribbon 6) is wound, is held by the supply shaft 7 of the ink ribbon 6. A take-up shaft 8 may be rotary-driven by means of, for example, a motor. With the rotation of the take-up shaft 8, the ink ribbon 6 is wound around the take-up shaft 8 while being discharged from the ribbon roll 13. Both the ink ribbon 6 and the web material 2 are interposed between a thermal head 9 a contained in the print head block 9 and the platen roller 5. The thermal head 9 a generates heat, which allows ink on the ink ribbon 6 to melt or sublimate. Through such operation of the thermal head 9 a, a predetermined pattern such as a character, numeric character, bar code, or graphic, is transferred onto a label which is provided on (e.g., attached to) a surface of the web material 2, e.g., the inner surface 2 a. Specifically, in this embodiment, a print mechanism may include the ink ribbon 6, the supply shaft 7, the take-up shaft 8, the print head block 9, the thermal head 9 a, the motor, and the motor controller. The print unit 12 includes the thermal head 9 a and the platen roller 5.

The label 14, which is printed with information by the print unit 12, is separated from the web material 2. In such a separation, an abutting member 15 is used to abut against a reverse side (i.e., an outer side) of the web material 2. The abutting member 15 is disposed downstream of the print unit 12 and the platen roller 5 in the paper feeding direction TD. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the abutting member 15 is disposed along a widthwise direction WD of the strip-shaped material 2. The paper feeding direction TD intersects with (e.g., is perpendicular to) the widthwise direction WD

As shown in FIG. 3, the abutting member 15 may be formed by bending a plate-shaped material. The abutting member 15 as shown in FIG. 3 includes an edge portion (i.e., a folded portion) 15 c extending along the widthwise direction WD, around which the abutting member 15 is folded in a substantially V-shape. The edge portion 15 c is sharpened upward downstream of the paper feeding direction TD. The abutting member 15 further includes a top plate 15 a formed at one side of the edge portion 15 c, which extends longitudinally along the widthwise direction WD so that the top plate 15 a is in contact with the reverse side 2 b of the web material 2 which is being passed through the print unit 12 along the paper feeding direction TD (i.e., along the horizontal direction in FIG. 1). The abutting member 15 further includes an inclined plate 15 b formed at the other side of the edge portion 15 c, which extends longitudinally along the widthwise direction WD and is obliquely oriented downward. The top plate 15 a makes an acute angle with the inclined plate 15 b. The outer surface of the edge portion 15 c is cylindrically curved at a radius of curvature on the order of a thickness of the plate-shaped material.

In one embodiment, the abutting member 15 further includes a plurality of through-holes 15 d, each of which makes a concave portion and are formed on a tip section of the edge portion 15 c. In this embodiment, the plurality of through-holes 15 d are spaced apart by a predetermined distance while extending from one end of the tip section of the edge portion 15 c to the other end thereof along the widthwise direction WD. In one embodiment, the plurality of through-holes 15 d may be of the same shape. In an alternative embodiment, respective gaps (e.g., pitches) between the plurality of through-holes 15 d may be substantially equal to a width of the through-hole 15 d (i.e., a length thereof along the widthwise direction WD). Further, in one embodiment, each of the plurality of through-holes 15 d may be formed by cutting out a portion of the joint area between the top plate 15 a and the inclined plate 15 b around the edge portion 15 c. In the above embodiment, the respective gaps (e.g., pitches) between the plurality of through-holes 15 d has been explained to be substantially equal to the width of the through-hole 15 d (i.e., the length along the widthwise direction WD), but may not be limited thereto. For example, in an alternative embodiment, the respective gaps (e.g., pitches) between the plurality of through-holes 15 d may be shorter or longer than the width of the through-hole 15 d (i.e., the length along the widthwise direction WD).

As shown in FIG. 4, in the printer 1 according to an illustrative embodiment, the tip section of the edge portion 15 c presses against the reverse side 2 b of the web material 2, thereby facilitating the separation of the label 14 from the inner surface 2 a of the web material 2. In this arrangement, an operator may grip the web material 2 with his/her hand(s) and then press the same against the edge portion 15 c for the separation. In some embodiments, the web material 2 may be pressed against the edge portion 15 c under tension created by a take-up mechanism (e.g., a rewinder 21 as shown in FIG. 1) provided in the printer 1. The rewinder 21 serves to rewind the backing sheet that is detached from the web material 2 being discharged from the paper roll 11. While in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the reverse side 2 b of the web material 2 is shown to be in contact with both the top plate 15 a and the inclined plate 15 b. In an alternative embodiment, the web material 2 may not be in contact with the top plate 15 a and the inclined plate 15 b.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view showing a state in which the web material 2 is in contact with the abutting member 15. As described above, the plurality of through-holes 15 d, each of which makes a concave portion, are formed on the tip section of the edge portion 15 c of the abutting member 15. In this arrangement, as shown in FIG. 5, when the abutting member 15 abuts against the web material 2, the web material 2 is under tension so that the web material 2 is in contact with a plurality of edges 15 e which are formed on both ends of each of the through-holes 15 d along the widthwise direction WD. As a result, the web material 2 may be deformed (or curved) to have ripples thereon. The reason for this is that, when the web material 2 is under tension which allows the web material 2 to be urged against the edge portion 15 c, the web material 2 is not supported at a lower side thereof in portions where the through-holes 15 d are formed, while it is supported by only the other portions where the through-holes 15 d are not formed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the web material 2 is deformed to have a corrugated shape along the widthwise direction WD, which facilitates both edges 14 a of the label 14 in the widthwise direction WD to be separated from the web material 2. Therefore, the label 14 may be easily separated starting from respective corners 14 b (see FIG. 2) thereof, which are positioned respectively at both ends of the label 14 in the widthwise direction WD (or downstream of the paper feeding direction TD). In addition, in a state that the web material 2 is curved along the widthwise direction WD, a crease may be visibly formed on the web material 2 (being in contact with the edge portion 15 c) along the paper feeding direction TD. In FIG. 5, a sectional view of the web material 2 is shown.

As described above, the device (e.g., the printer 1) according to the above embodiment includes the abutting member 15 having the edge portion 15 c which longitudinally extends along the widthwise direction WD and abuts against the reverse side 2 b of the web material 2. In addition, the plurality of through-holes 15 d are formed on the tip section of the edge portion 15 c. In this arrangement, a portion of the web material 2 to be abutted by the edge portion 15 c is bended along the widthwise direction WD so that the label 14 is easily separated from the web material 2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another example of an abutting member to be used in a printer according to another embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, an abutting member 15A according to another embodiment includes a plurality of protrusions 15 f in place of the plurality of through-holes 15 d as shown in FIG. 3. The plurality of protrusions 15 f, each of which makes a convex portion, are formed spaced apart by a predetermined distance on the tip section of the edge portion 15 c. Further, the plurality of protrusions 15 f are arranged from one end of the tip section of the edge portion 15 c to the other end thereof along the widthwise direction WD. Similar to the above embodiment, in this arrangement, the web material 2 is under tension so that a support condition of the web material 2 by the edge portion 15 c varies depending on the presence or absence of the plurality of protrusions 15 f in the widthwise direction WD. This results in a condition under which the web material 2 is bended by the edge portion 15 c as described above with reference to FIG. 5, which in turn, allows the label 14 to be easily separated from the web material 2. The abutting member 15A shown in FIG. 6 may be substituted for the abutting member 15 shown in FIG. 5.

In the embodiments as described above, the through-holes (i.e., the concave portions) 15 d or the plurality of protrusions (i.e., the convex portions) 15 f are formed on the tip section of the edge portion 15 c. Therefore, the abutting member 15 (or 15A) with the plurality of through-holes 15 d (or the plurality of protrusions 150 may have applicability to numerous sizes of the web material 2 or the label 14 in the widthwise direction WD, thereby facilitating the separation of the label 14 from the web material 2.

Further, in the above embodiments, the abutting member 15 is formed by bending a plate-shaped material. This simplifies the procedures for manufacturing the abutting member 15 (or 15A) compared to the case the abutting member 15 (or 15A) is produced by, for example, a molding, which reduces the production cost of the abutting member 15 (or 15A). Since an edge portion of an abutting member is formed by bending a plate-shaped material, it may be difficult to sharpen the edge portion. Accordingly, in the related art where the separation of the label 14 from the strip-shaped material 2 is performed by using the sharpness of the tip section of the edge portion, it may be difficult to configure a desired abutting member merely by employing a process of bending the plate-shaped material. In view of the foregoing, according to this embodiment, the separation of the label 14 from the web material 2 is facilitated by employing the concave portions or the convex portions formed on the tip section of the edge portion 15 c, which makes it easier to produce the abutting member by bending the plate-shaped material. Furthermore, it will be apparent that, even when an abutting member with concave portions or convex portions is produced through the use of various techniques (e.g., a molding, etc.) other than the bending process, similar results can be obtained.

Moreover, in the above embodiment, the concave portions are made by the plurality of through-holes 15 d formed on the plate-shaped material, which allows the abutting member to be produced with reduced size. Likewise, this makes the production of the concave portions easier. In addition, using a technique of forming the plurality of through-holes 15 d and followed by bending the abutting member 15, allows the abutting member 15 to be easily bended.

While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described above, various modifications and alterations may be made without being limited to the disclosed embodiments. For example, the present disclosure is applicable to a printing device other than the label printer, including a label issuing device, a conveying device, electronic equipment, office machinery, or the like. Alternatively, the concave portions may be formed by bottomed grooves instead of the through-holes, thereby producing similar effects. In addition, chamfering may be performed on the concave or the convex portions if necessary, thereby minimizing damage to the web material or the printing medium (e.g., label). Further, no necessity arises for forming the edge portion perpendicular to the paper feeding direction TD, but the edge portion may be formed along a direction obliquely intersecting the paper feeding direction TD. Furthermore, the edge portion may include both concave and convex portions. Still furthermore, the edge portion may include a plurality of arrays which are formed by the concave portions, the convex portions, or a combination thereof in various directions (e.g., an intersecting direction, etc.). In addition, specifications (form, structure, shape, size, length, width, height, thickness, section, weight, number, material, arrangement, position, etc.) of various elements (device, printer, an article to be pasted, a strip-shaped body, pasting material, printing medium, conveying mechanism, abutting member, edge portion, concave portion, convex portion, plate-shaped member, through-holes, protrusions, print unit, etc.) may be appropriately changed for practice.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions. 

1. A conveying device, comprising: a conveying mechanism configured to convey a mount with a web material provided thereon in a conveying direction; and an abutting member including an edge portion extending in a widthwise direction intersecting with the conveying direction and configured to allow the edge portion to abut against the mount.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the edge portion includes a plurality of concave portions or a plurality of convex portions, wherein each of the plurality of concave and convex portions is formed along the widthwise direction.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the abutting member is formed of a bent plate-shaped material, wherein the edge portion includes a plurality of through-holes.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the edge portion includes a plurality of protrusions, wherein the plurality of protrusions are protruded from the surface of the plate-shaped material.
 5. The device of claim 4, wherein the edge portion further includes a first and a second plate located on opposite sides of the edge portion and extend in the widthwise direction, and wherein the second plate is obliquely oriented at a predetermined angle with respect to the first plate.
 6. The device of claim 3, wherein the plurality of through-holes are spaced apart and extend from one end of the tip section of the edge portion to the other end thereof along the widthwise direction.
 7. The device of claim 5, wherein the first and second plates are in contact with the mount.
 8. The device of claim 5, wherein the first and second plates are not in contact with the mount.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the abutting member is produced by a molding process.
 10. The device of claim 2, wherein the edge portion includes a plurality of arrays each being defined by the plurality of concave portions, the plurality of convex portions, or a combination thereof.
 11. A printer, comprising: a print unit configured to print on a printing medium provided on a first side of a web material; an abutting member disposed downstream of the print unit in a conveying direction to abut against a second side of the web material while extending in a widthwise direction of the web material; and an edge portion which is provided with the abutting member to abut against the second side and includes a plurality of concave portions or a plurality of convex portions formed thereon.
 12. An abutting member, comprising: a bent plate-shaped material; and an edge portion to abut against one side of a mount with a printing medium formed thereon, the edge portion being located along a widthwise direction intersecting with a mount conveying direction and including a plurality of concave portions or a plurality of convex portions.
 13. The member of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of concave and convex portions is formed along the widthwise direction.
 14. The member of claim 12, wherein the edge portion includes a plurality of through-holes to be used as the plurality of concave portions.
 15. The member of claim 12, wherein the edge portion includes a plurality of protrusions to be used as the plurality of convex portions, wherein the plurality of protrusions protrude from the surface of the plate-shaped material.
 16. The member of claim 12, wherein the edge portion further includes a first and a second plate located on opposite sides of the edge portion while extending in the widthwise direction, and wherein the second plate is obliquely oriented at an angle with respect to the first plate. 